


As The Time Flies

by Kasket



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Anxiety Attacks, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Lots of kissing, M/M, Mention of kissing, Mild Sexual Content, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 09:19:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11310414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasket/pseuds/Kasket
Summary: After an excruciatingly long summer vacation away from Henrietta, Noah Czerny is dying to get back. It's senior year at Aglionby, and Noah looks forward to giving the freshman hell, receiving his acceptance letter from Columbia University, and mostly, being with his friends, whom he hasn't seen in a month. He has it all planned out, but sometimes, life gets in the way and the best-laid plans go to waste. Follow Noah and the Gangsey as they navigate love, college applications, senior year of high school, and the surprising detours that life takes them.





	As The Time Flies

**Author's Note:**

> Hi peeps! I'm back at it again with a TRC fic this time. Originally, the story developed as a brief headcanon that I wanted to post to tumblr, but accidentally expanded into a 7k fic. A little warning: this story does deal a bit with anxiety attacks. So please read at your own risk if that sort of thing does trigger you. Finally, I want to give special thanks to [Lydia St. James](http://lydia-st-james.tumblr.com/) for beta'ing for me. You're amazing, and thank you so freakin' much!

**August**

 

Noah Czerny is dying.

 

Okay, he’s not actually dying, but it’s been an excruciatingly long month. All of his sighs and fidgeting finally exasperates his mother. “For god sakes, Noah Czerny, please just go if you’re going to act like this all evening.”

 

Noah grins and jumps up from the sofa quickly before he slings his arms around his mother, nuzzling his face into his mother’s hair. “You know I love you, right.”

 

“Yes, that is why you’re abandoning your poor mother.”

 

“I’m not abandoning you. I’ll be back when I want a home-cooked meal. Also when I run out of money. Speaking of money and food, we’re going to Nino’s--”

 

His mother rolls her eyes, but the faint twitch threatening to break into a smile betrays her. She pulls out her wallet and hands him a hundred bill. “Spend wisely.”

 

“Yep.”

 

“And I don't want to hear about you skateboarding inside the school this year.”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“Call me when you get settled in.”

 

“Will do!”

 

“And-”

 

Noah groans. “Mom! I gotta go.”

 

“Fine, fine. Go then.”

 

Noah kisses her cheek before running upstairs and grabbing his school uniform and other things he might need for the school year. On his way out, he regards his parent’s liquor cabinet as he calculates his chances of getting away with sneaking a bottle out with him. Looking around, Noah quickly snatches a bottle of tequila. Eh, not his favorite, but this will do.

 

“Mom is going to kill you when she finds out.”

 

Noah startles when he finds Adele standing behind him with her arms crossed over her chest, eying him judgmentally.

 

“Well, Mom isn’t going to find out because _no one_ saw me.”

 

“Twenty dollars and I get to go in your room whenever I want,” she demands, holding out her hands with a smug grin.

 

“Fine,” He growls and reluctantly pulls out his wallet, stuffing a twenty in Adele’s little hands. Noah sighs before he ventures out to meet his friends at Nino’s.

 

Noah Czerny is dying to see his friends after a vacation with his family. Sure, there have been frequent Skype calls, text messages, and occasional pictures of Ronan flipping off the camera, but it’s not the same as being with them.

 

Driving on the familiar Henrietta roads, Noah thinks about the upcoming year. He looks forward to senior year, giving the freshman hell, pulling unproductive all-nighters, and slacking off after his acceptance from Columbia University arrives. But mostly, he looks forward to another year with his friends. The good old times…

 

When Noah enters, cheers erupt from their table and his chest swells happily. However, Noah stops short when something at the table draws his attention, and Noah quickly realizes that it’s not going to be like the good old times.

 

There is a new addition to their Nino's table.

 

Henry Cheng.

 

What in the fresh hell?

 

The presence of Henry Cheng sitting at their table stirs something uncomfortable inside Noah. He suppresses his growing irritation and confusion, but his attempt grows futile like trying not to scratch at a mosquito bite. Since when do they hang out with Henry Cheng?

 

Most of the dinner conversation revolves around their summer adventures with Cheng which only further annoys Noah. Apparently, over the summer break, Cheng invited them to one of his parties, and they’ve been a close-knit group since then. Internally, he knows the basis of his annoyance with Henry Cheng is irrational but he doesn’t care. He blames Cheng for the downhill start of his senior year.

 

School starts. Cheng eats lunch at their table now. He visits Monmouth on a regular basis and obsesses over ancient Welsh text with Gansey. He flirts with Blue all the time. He even shamefully flirts with Adam until Ronan threatens to punch Cheng’s teeth out. _One_ _day_ , Noah wistfully hopes.

 

Some days, Cheng even makes pathetic attempts to interact with him, but Noah minimizes these interactions with curt responses.

 

“Hey, what are you working on?”

 

“Work.”

 

“What kind of work?”

 

“Schoolwork.”

 

“Okay. Well, you seem very busy.”

 

“Very.”

 

“Oh. Then I'll let you get back to work.”

 

Henry walks away before Ronan leans over and whispers. “Noah, you’re kind of a dick to Cheng.”

 

“And your point is?”

 

“Nothing. I just really enjoy watching it.”

 

As each day passes, Noah faces the disappointing realization: Cheng is not going anywhere.

 

It’s going to be a long year.

 

**September**

 

Everything changes in September.

 

First of all, the easygoingness of August quickly evaporates as the first round of college application deadlines loom over Noah. He might die if he doesn’t get into Columbia University early-bird admission. Noah doesn’t enjoy dwelling on the thought of not making it into Columbia. When he thinks too much about it, his heart squeezes painfully tight in his chest and breathing feels difficult, like reading an instruction manual in a different language.

 

He signs up for the SAT as a final effort to boost his testing scores. His SAT scores are great, but Noah worries if they are Columbia standards. Between the stress of SAT prep, college essays, and school work, Noah’s stress levels worsen.

 

Gansey suggests SAT Prep sleepovers to help prepare, keeping the coffee flowing all night. Ronan provides excellent distraction by blaring loud music, pelting them with paper balls when he feels like they have been studying too long (so every five minutes), or showing them the latest trick he taught Chainsaw. Noah should be working, but most of the time, he indulges in Ronan’s distraction like seeing how many marshmallows they can fit in their mouths or creating a rap about three random household objects. Adam, the most studious of them all, actually takes these sleepovers seriously. Then there is Cheng, still around.

 

The morning of the SAT, Noah severely regrets not taking those sleepovers more seriously. His chest contracts so painfully that Noah worries he could be having a heart attack. Can a person have a heart attack at seventeen? However, despite whatever pain he feels, Noah forces himself to go to testing.

 

It surprises him to see Cheng there, reclining cooly in one of the seats. When he sees Noah, his dark eyes glimmer with recognition and his lips curve into a wide grin as if he had been waiting all morning just to smile at Noah. The genuine reaction takes Noah aback and sets his nerves at ease oddly enough.

 

“I didn’t know you were taking the SAT this morning.” Noah took his seat behind Cheng and the other boy turned, leaning forward on the desk between them.

 

“I decided at the last minute.”

 

“Oh.”

 

An awkward silence stretches between them as Noah realizes he doesn’t know how to interact with Henry Cheng. His thoughts inevitably circled back to the SAT.  Who even created the SAT, and why do they enjoy torturing kids? Whoever they are, Noah feels certain that they are burning in the deepest depths of hell somewhere.

 

“Are you nervous?” Cheng asks, breaking Noah from his thoughts.

 

“What?”

 

“Your fingers?” He points out the way that Noah’s fingers incessantly rap against the desk. Noah doesn’t realize that he is doing it and snatches his hands from the desk, stuffing them between his thighs.

 

“I could teach you a relaxation technique. I learned it in drama club,” Henry offers when Noah doesn't reply.

 

“You’re in drama club?” Noah snorts.

 

“President, actually.” Cheng smirks before he says, “Close your eyes.”

 

Skeptically, Noah closes his eyes before Cheng walks him through a series of breathing exercises. Surprisingly, it works. The tightness in his chest loosens, and Noah relaxes into his chair.

 

“Better?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

They don’t talk much afterward because the exam begins, but after testing, Cheng suggests that they celebrate with ice cream, and Noah Czerny never refuses an invitation for ice cream. They stop at the only Dairy Queen in Henrietta where they discuss the tough SAT questions. Noah tells Cheng about his dream school, and in return, Cheng tells him about his planned gap year. Mostly, they share silly memes and laugh at their own stupid jokes.

 

As Cheng leans across the table and laughs inside this tiny Dairy Queen, Noah’s world expands a little wider to make room for Henry Cheng.

 

**October**

 

Noah laughs at Henry’s jokes now, and when Henry talks to Noah, he doesn’t force himself to smile and bare it. He actually enjoys talking to Henry now. So when Henry invites them all to his Halloween party, Noah happily accepts. Adam works that night. Ronan would rather saw off his own foot than party with Cheng. That leaves Noah third wheeling it with Gansey and Blue, who are convinced that they are doing a spectacular job at hiding their secret relationship that everyone knows about.  Blue goes as Vanellope Von Schweetz, while Noah dresses as the one and only Marty Mcfly.

 

Henry greets them at the door in a pale toga that leaves no room for the imagination, with a golden laurel wreath to accessorize. Noah openly admires his bare arms and legs. When Henry’s eyes meet his own, Noah’s gaze darts away.

 

“Oh Gansey, you’re Harry Potter!”

 

“No, I’m James.” Gansey points to his forehead. “See no scar?” It’s awkward for the rest of the night because everyone mistakes him for Harry Potter without a scar. After enough grumbling from Gansey, Blue grabs a sharpie and draws a lighting bolt on his face.

 

Noah isn't surprised when Blue and Gansey vanish off together in the middle of the night, leaving him alone. Well, he’s not alone because Henry keeps him company on the porch. Noah steals glances at Henry standing underneath the porch lamp, and his heart lurches strangely in his chest.

 

“Are you cold?” Noah swallows thickly, motioning to Henry’s exposed limbs before immediately stuffing his hands in his pockets.

 

“No. The breeze is nice.”

 

Henry gracefully swings his legs over the porch railing. His eyes study Noah’s face for a long time.

 

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

 

Henry continues to stare at him like a math equation in need of solving.

 

“You’re different.” Their shoulders brush together, and Noah’s breath catches.

 

“How?”

 

“I don’t know. You’re just are.” Henry crosses his arms over his chest. “For the longest time, I thought you hated me.”

 

Noah throws his head back and laughs.

 

“What’s so funny?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

When Blue and Gansey tell Noah that they are leaving, he reluctantly goes with them because Gansey is his ride. He doesn’t want to leave though, and he doesn’t want to stop talking to Henry. He wants to laugh at his stupid jokes and stare at his stupid smile and press his mouth to Henry’s exposed collarbone--

 

Oh.

 

**November**

 

After Halloween, Noah dreams frequently of Henry. Sometimes he dreams about Halloween night. He dreams about their bodies pressing against the porch railing, his mouth tasting the sweet heat of Henry’s mouth, his hands touching Henry everywhere, and Henry’s soft murmurs of approval in his ear. On those nights, Noah startles awake breathing heavily, damp and flushed. The next day, he can barely look Henry in the eyes.

 

Noah quickly picks up on the fact that he’s attracted to Henry Cheng, even if he’s not sure how Henry feels about him. Sometimes Henry flirts with him, but he also flirts with Blue and Gansey and Adam and the girl in the grocery and their school librarian. It’s hard to feel special when Henry charms anything with two legs.

 

His mother calls him a late November day to tell him his letter from Columbia University has arrived in the mail, After school, Noah immediately rushes home without an explanation to his friends. His chest coils tightly the entire drive home, and he is too impatient as he rips open the letter.

 

_Dear Noah Czerny,_

_We appreciate your interest in Columbia University. However, admission to Columbia University has become incredibly competitive. After careful consideration of all aspects of your application, we are unable to offer you admission..._

He doesn’t read the rest of the letter. He closes his eyes as tight as he can, paper clutched in hand, telling himself that he feels nothing and repeating it until he believes it. Surprisingly, it works.

 

When he has pictured this moment, Noah always imagines that his chest tightens so painfully that he would just collapse into himself upon seeing a rejection. Instead, something expands so wide inside him that he can hardly feel the crushing blow of disappointment. The world keeps turning. The seconds keep ticking by. He is still standing.

 

“It’s okay to feel sad or disappointed. You had your heart set on Columbia.” His mother sits beside him on the sofa, brushing back blonde strands from his face.

 

“It’s fine. It's no big deal.”

 

“Noah--”

 

Noah stands abruptly and moves towards the door.

 

“I’m going out skateboarding for a bit. Don’t wait up for me.” Noah cuts her off and doesn’t bother to stop when she calls out his name.

 

Noah actually commends himself on how well he is taking all of this, especially when he returns to Monmouth later that evening. He actually believes that he is fine until Henry shares that he’s going on a date with the local girl at the grocery store.

 

The news fractures something inside of Noah like water breaking through a collapsing dam, and he wants to put his face between his knees and scream as loud as he can. Instead, he sits there and quietly fades into the background.

 

Henry Cheng doesn't want him. He’s so stupid. That’s why Columbia doesn’t want him. _What if no college wants him?_ He thinks. No college would ever want someone so pathetically stupid. It’s almost laughable how stupid he is to think he has a chance with Henry Cheng.

 

His chest constricts, and as he swallows, it feels like a stone trying to slide down his throat. He grips the arm of the chair in panic.

 

Oh god, he can’t breathe.  

 

He’s going to die.

 

A warm hand wraps around his arm. When Noah’s head snaps up, Ronan stands there looming over him with an inscrutable expression.

 

“Noah and I are going out.” That's all he says as he drags Noah outside with him.

 

It takes everything in Noah not to collapse in the dirt from the pain in his chest. He slumps over the trunk of the BMW, sucking in short, rapid breaths.

 

“You’re hyperventilating. Noah, you need to breathe. “

 

“I can’t,” Noah wheezes as his throat closes in.

 

“Yes, you can.”

 

Noah shakes his head as his lungs snatch for bits of air. His vision swims in and out of focus as he sags against the BMW onto his knees.

 

This is it. He’s dying.

 

“Hey, stay with me! Fuck!” Ronan snaps as he presses something into his hands and squeezes Noah’s fist hard around it. Ice cubes. The cold wetness shocks Noah back into reality, and his fist grips it tight until his hands are numb and red.

 

When Noah can finally breathe again, Ronan helps him off the ground and forces him into the BMW for a long drive. It’s everything he needs as he concentrates on the cool November air on his face and the thrill of speeding twenty-five miles over the limit.

 

Ronan parks on the side of the road and the thrill wears off. Noah’s emotions crash into him like a tidal wave, the sobs tearing out of him from nowhere. Ronan sits silently with him and lets him cry without judgment. Afterward, he feels foolish crying in front of Ronan, but a whole lot better. Noah stares at his reflection in the mirror. He’s a portrait of perfection with his damp eyes, his blotchy cheeks, and mucus dripping from his nose.

 

“If you ask me to, I’ll throw him out of a window,” Ronan offers.

 

Noah gives a watery laugh, cheeks growing warm and pink. Great, Ronan thinks he’s crying over a guy...which he kind of is. Of course, Ronan figured it out. They all probably know by now, including Henry.

 

“That won’t be necessary.” Noah wipes his nose on his sleeve.

 

“That’s fucking gross.”

 

“I know,” Noah sniffs and laughs again before he tries to rub his snotty sleeve on Ronan. They return back to Monmouth later that night. Ronan hovers over Noah, deflecting any concerned questions and glances.

 

“Where did you guys go so suddenly?”

 

“Haven’t you heard, Dick? We went to go see the traveling circus bear in town. Its name was called  Mind Your Own Fucking Business.”

 

Noah laughs. Gansey doesn’t find the joke as amusing as he does.

 

**December**

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and the gang decides on a Secret Santa exchange. The catch: there is a fifteen dollar limit on all gifts. What Christmas gift cost fifteen dollars? That’s not a gift; it’s a donation. Noah picks Adam’s name from the hat. While there are a lot of things that he thinks would make Adam’s life easier, most of those things cost over fifteen dollars. He finally decides on those crystal salt lamps that clear negative air and help you sleep better at night. The lamp costs over fifteen dollars, but who’s going to know that Noah cheated?

 

They gather on the 22nd to exchange gifts as Gansey and Ronan are driving up to DC to spend Christmas with their respective families.  Adam gives Blue a container to store her sewing materials. Blue makes Ronan another leather band for his arm. Ronan gets Gansey painting supplies for his Henrietta replica. Gansey buys Henry a book on Venezuela. That leaves Henry as Noah’s Secret Santa.

 

He receives a Columbia University t-shirt, and much to everyone’s confusion, Noah laughs.

 

“Guys, I haven’t been completely honest recently,” Noah explains his recent rejection letter from Columbia University last month. Guilt-ridden, Henry insists on getting Noah a new gift.

 

“Really, let me buy you something else.”

 

“No,” Noah says when Henry reaches for the shirt, and he holds it protectively to his chest.“I mean, I can wear it to sleep.” Noah reasons with him, but Henry doesn’t look persuaded.

 

“Actually, I’m happy that this happened. Since this is a night of truths…” Gansey stands. “Jane and I have something to confess. We’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you guys.” His hand slides into Blue’s.

 

“Fucking finally! Did anyone else think they were going to keep this up forever?” Ronan exclaims, and everyone laughs except Gansey and Blue. Both are disappointed to learn that everyone already knows.

 

Noah ventures outside for some cool air while Adam pulls Ronan under the mistletoe, and Henry, Blue, and Gansey check on the Christmas cookies. It’s quiet until Noah hears the opening and closing of the door.

 

“What are you doing out here? It’s freezing,” Henry asks, climbing down the stairs.

 

“I don’t mind it. I like it. Thanks for the shirt, by the way.”

 

“Listen, you don’t have to pretend--”

 

Noah places a finger to Henry’s lips and silences him.

 

“I want the shirt. I’m not pretending or being nice.”

 

A soft smile curls on Henry’s lips before he reaches up and takes his hand.

 

“Your hands are freezing.” Henry rubs a bit of warmth into Noah’s fingers, and Noah silently thanks the universe for cold hands

 

“Your hands are warms.”

 

“Lucky for you. My body runs like a furnace.”

 

Noah shivers, but not because of the cold.

 

“You’re shaking.” Henry pulls Noah into his chest and wraps his jackets around the two of them. Warmth floods Noah’s chest like moonlight spilling into a dark room, and a swooping sensation sweeps through the pit of his stomach as he buries his face into Henry’s shoulder. Henry is warm, and Noah inhales a hint of vanilla as their bodies press together. As Noah’s palms spread across the width of Henry’s back, he feels Henry’s smile on his ear.

 

“Noah?” The heat of Henry’s breath on his ear is a religious experience, pure and immaculate and holy. Noah pulls his face from Henry’s shoulder, drawing his gaze up.

 

Noah’s tongue stills and coherent speech flees him under Henry’s awe-struck gaze. This must be what the Mona Lisa feels like when admirers venture from near and far to behold her beauty. However, there is one gaze she won’t receive tonight because it belongs all to him. Henry’s eyes drift down to his lips before gathering the courage to run his thumb gently across the shape of Noah’s mouth.

 

“Is this okay?” Henry tilts Noah’s face towards him.

 

“Yes,” Noah barely breathes, heart thrumming wildly in his chest as his eyelids flutter close.

 

“Hey guys, the sugar cookies are--oh.”

 

_Damnit._

 

Something hits the floor and gives a loud clang. Henry and Noah jump apart, and Gansey kneels at the top of the stairs, scrambling to pick up scattered Christmas cookies. Everyone ventures outside to investigate.

 

“What happ--” Ronan examines the cookies on the ground. “Damn it, Dick, you had one fucking job!” By the expression Ronan wears, Noah would have thought Christmas isn’t coming this year.

 

Blue sighs as she helps Gansey collect the ruined cookies. “I guess someone is going to have to drive to the grocery store for more cookie dough.

 

“I can drive.” Noah volunteers partially because he feels responsible.

 

In the dairy section of the grocery store, Noah catches his reflection in one of the glass doors and reaches up to trace the shape of his lips where Henry once had.

 

“Hey, are you okay?” Blue’s question breaks him out of his trance as she tugs on his coat sleeve. “You have a weird look.”

 

Noah stares back at his reflection and smiles.

 

“I’m perfect.”

 

**January**

 

College letters arrive from everywhere, and soon his mailbox fills to the brim with letters. Noah receives offers from Berkeley, NYU, Duke, and other schools. He has choices. Meanwhile, Henry gets serious about his trip after graduation. He convinces Blue and Gansey to join him, and they even let Noah help them conduct research and suggest places.

 

“Did you know that in Spain, they have this festival where participants just have one huge tomato fight?”

 

Or:

 

“Maybe you should hold off the trip to India until the spring, then you can see the festival of colors.”

 

Noah finds that he loves planning their trip with them. He wants to do something similar in college. He might major in something that involves event planning or marketing.

 

“You’ll be amazing at that!” Henry cheers him on when he tells his friends.

 

Speaking of Henry, neither of them have addressed the incident that transpired between them. Instead, they dance and dance and dance in circles. Noah contents himself with stolen glances and lingering brushes.

 

One cold January morning, Noah discovers a note in his locker from Henry.

 

_Feeling up to an adventure today? Let’s meet in the auditorium at lunch._

 

First and second period drags on, the time ticking by so slowly. Noah counts the seconds until lunch and then counts them again. When they are dismissed for lunch, Noah bursts out of his seat and sprints to the auditorium where he finds Henry standing on the bare stage.

 

“What are we doing?” Noah joins Henry on the stage.

 

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

 

Henry leads him to a set of hidden staircases that leads to a basement filled with an abandoned menagerie of theatre sets and costumes.

 

“What is this?”

 

Henry shrugs in response as he blows the dust off of a tattered backdrop that appeared to be a poorly-painted carnival. “I guess this is where they use to store their old sets before the renovation. Some of this stuff has to be from the fifties… Just forgotten down here.”

 

“Yes, but why did you bring me down here? This seems like something Gansey would love.” Noah gestures around them. Henry smiled mischievously.

 

“That’s exactly why I didn’t bring Gansey down here with us.”

 

Noah opens his mouth to ask Henry what he means by that, but he loses his thought when Henry’s mouth falls open on his. Noah’s hands instinctively cling to the front of Henry’s shirt as Henry presses him into one of the old flats. Henry’s lips are everywhere, his face, his jaw, his neck, removing any trace of the Henrietta winter chill.

 

Noah receives a detention when he’s late to third period, but frankly, he has no fucks to give.

 

**February**

 

Noah discovers that Henry Cheng is obnoxious about Valentine’s day.  In the morning, he finds his locker filled with those tiny boxes of candied hearts. In first period, Henry hand delivers a rose bouquet and persuades the teacher to let him recite Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 in front of the class. It’s both adorably romantic and dreadfully embarrassing. At lunch, Henry wrangles members of the orchestra to serenade them during lunch.  

 

“Where is my orchestra quartet, Lynch?” Adam asks over the swell of quartet music.

 

Ronan flips him off.  “There is your orchestra quartet.”

 

“Charming,” Adam replies drily.

 

Just when Noah thinks Valentine’s is over, Henry waits by his car after school holding an assorted arrangement of colorful balloons. There are too many to count, and Noah worries the winds might carry Henry away if it blows any harder.

 

“Do you like it?”

 

“Yeah…” Noah clutches the roses to his chest, and the grin on Henry’s face fades.

 

“But?”

 

“But?” Noah repeated.

 

“You’re wearing that face. That face that comes after but. You don’t like it.”

 

“No, no!” Noah reassures. “I love it, all of it, but it’s a lot...I mean it’s not a lot. I just--” Noah sighed. “I only got you a box of chocolate and a card. I feel like I should have tried harder.”

 

“It is a lot,” Henry admits. “Noah, you could literally give me a piece of lint for Valentine’s day, and I would be so happy. I wanted our first Valentine’s to be memorable.”

 

“Don’t worry. It will definitely be memorable. It was the first time someone recited Shakespeare to me in a public setting.”

 

Henry smirks. “I hope to be many firsts.”

 

Pink colors Noah’s cheeks. He looks up into the mass of colorful balloons, and a thought pops into his head.

 

”Henry?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“How are we going to get all of these balloons into the car?”

 

“You know, I didn’t think that far ahead.”

 

**March**

 

When Adam’s Harvard letter arrives in the mail, they all gather at Monmouth together in support. Watching Adam read his letter proves to be stress-inducing as he reads with a neutral expression, making it difficult to decipher anything. When Adam glances up from the page Gansey questions him.

 

“Well, what does it say?”

 

“I’m in.”

 

The room explodes into cheers, and Adam appears stunned for a moment as if he doubts his own words. As the thought sinks in, Adam smiles. It’s so blindly bright and contagious that Noah cannot help smiling himself.

 

However,  no one is as excited about the news as Ronan, who strings together a colorful arrangement of cuss words.

 

“ Shit! Fucking hell, Parrish! You did it you fucking asshole!” Adam’s face flushes a dark scarlet under Ronan’s aggressive assaults of compliments.

 

“Having regrets about dropping out?” Noah asks. Ronan chucks a book at Noah, who ducks and dodges it before sticking out his tongue triumphantly.

 

“Keep talking, and I will throw you out the second-floor window.”

 

Gansey steps in quickly to mediate. “No! We had to rush Noah to the ER the last time. I had to lie about what really happened. So no, we’re not throwing people out of the window anymore.”

 

“That was a good night,” Noah reminisces fondly, and his gaze meets Ronan, who grins wickedly at him.

 

“Good times.”

 

“What is the matter with you two?” Gansey throws his hands in the air, and an impossibly inhuman noise escapes his mouth.  “Someone got hurt that night!”

 

“Stop being a fucking wet blanket,” Ronan dismissed.

 

Noah nods in agreement. “You’re always trying to stop us from having fun.”

 

Gansey looks up to the sky and sighs heavily as if he is praying to the universe to give him strength.

 

Blue and Henry exchange confused glances, waiting for someone to explain. No one ever does.

 

When the hype of Adam’s news wears off, Adam asks Noah if he has considered where he is going yet.

 

“I don’t know. I really like the program at NYU, but Berkeley would be a nice change of scenery.”

 

“Berkeley, that’s kind of far. Isn’t it?” Blue asks.

 

The aftermath of that statement is immediate as the realization strikes them. Eventually, they will have to part ways, and maybe they won’t always be friends.

 

Noah’s thoughts spiral. _What’s going to happen after graduation? What happens to Henry and him? Were they even mature to handle a long distance relationship?_ A familiar pressure in his chest resurfaces and Noah squeezes his fist tightly and focuses on his nails cutting into his palm instead.

 

It helps.

 

**April**

 

It’s official. Noah will attend NYU in the fall. However, college seems so far away when prom steadily approaches. It’s all the boys of Aglionby talk about. What designer tux are they wearing? What local girls do they plan to invite? How to acquire alcohol for the after parties?

 

Gansey invites Blue to the prom. Henry asks Noah to prom during the curtain call of the school play. Adam goes stag as Ronan recently dropped out of Aglionby, but they all plan a sleepover at the Barn after the prom. Henry suggests Adam come to prom with Noah and him. Apparently, it’s always been Henry’s fantasy to go to prom with two handsome dates on each of his arms.

 

“You’re about to go to prom with zero handsome dates on your arm,”  says Noah, and Blue high fives him.

 

“Noah, you really shouldn’t talk about Adam and yourself like that,” Henry smirks at both Blue and Noah’s mouths fall open. Blue closes her mouth and glances at Noah.

 

“I’m going to need to take my high five back. That was pretty good.”

 

“I know it was a good burn, Blue. You don’t have to point it out.” Noah whispers fiercely

 

The night of prom, Noah is reminded of that saying: “You’ll never forget your prom night.” He’s not sure how true that statement is for everyone. It seems like an overgeneralization, but for some reason, he feels compelled to commit every minute to memory. Five, ten, fifteen years from now, he wants to remember the way that Blue and Henry rip it to shreds on the dance floor. The awkward three-person slow dance that he shares with Adam and Tad Carruthers because Adam doesn't want to be left alone with Tad. Gansey as he steps into the spotlight to receive his crown. He wants to remember it all.

 

He wants to remember this particular moment of Henry holding him close as they dance across the floor. Noah presses his face into Henry’s shoulder, and he feels the seconds fading into memories and slipping away from him like water pouring into his hand.

 

_It’s not fair,_ he thinks.

 

Suddenly, there is not enough time in the world. The chest pains return sharp and fresh as ever, and Noah swallows thickly as he fists Henry’s jacket.

 

_Keep it together._

 

_Not here._

 

_Not now._

 

Henry pulls back to get a get a good look at his face.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Noah nods his head, but Henry doesn't look convinced.

 

Just focus on breathing.

 

Just breathe.

 

Breathe.

 

Breathebreathebreathebreathebreathebreathe.

 

Fuck.

 

His throat tightens. Noah tries to swallow but he can’t.  Oh god, he can’t swallow. He’s going to stop breathing soon. He feels it.

 

“Hey look at me,” Henry takes his face in his hands. Noah’s eyes dart to Henry, wide and frantic. “Close your eyes and envision the air you’re breathing in as blue.”

 

Noah follows his instruction as Henry walks him through the same breathing exercise he did when they took the SAT together. They stay like that until Noah feels steady, and his grip on the back of Henry’s jacket loosens. Henry whispers in his ear. “It’s crowded in here. Let’s get some fresh air.”

 

Noah lets Henry lead him out of the school. They sit on a bench outside. Noah closes his eyes and pulls his face into his knees as tightly as he can.

 

“Does that happen often?”

 

“Does what happen often?”

 

Henry gives him a look that says that Noah knows exactly what he is referring to.

 

“Sometimes.” Noah sits up a little, hiding his face in his hands before laughing humorlessly. “You probably think I’m pathetic.”

 

Henry reaches out, brushing his knuckles lightly against Noah’s cheeks, before gently tugging Noah’s hands from his face. “That’s not true.”

 

“I ruined the night.”

 

“That’s also not true. I’m still having a great--”

 

“You should just break up with me already,” Noah interrupts him.

 

Henry flinches and pulls back.

 

“Did you think that I was going to break up with you?” Henry asks, wearing a wounded expression. When he can’t stand looking at Henry’s wide shimmering eyes, Noah’s gaze flickers towards the ground. “Is that what you want?” Henry asks quietly.

 

“No--I--” Noah starts quickly before pausing as he thinks.  “Do you think we’re prepared to start a long distance relationship?”

 

Henry’s eyebrows furrow. Noah has never seen Henry look so unsure of himself. “It wouldn’t be easy, but I like you a lot, and I think I would hate myself if I didn’t give us a fair try. As long as you want me around, I’m not going anywhere.”

 

Noah’s hand slips into Henry’s, their fingers weaving together.

 

“I’ll always want you around.”

 

Later that evening, Ronan waits for them on the porch steps of the barn after prom.

 

“Did you miss us?”  The smirk on Adam’s face is inevitable.

 

“Don’t be an asshole, Parrish.  No one likes an asshole.”

 

“That’s probably why no one likes you,”

 

Ronan flicks Adam’s bow tie.

 

“I would rather be here than parading around in a monkey’s suit and dancing or whatever the fuck else people are doing at those things.”

 

“Probably losing their virginities,” Henry adds helpfully.

 

“No one asked you, Cheng.”

 

“As the only member of this group who is wearing heels, can we move all of this inside? I’m sinking in the mud,” Blue points out, and they all move into the living room where they drink the schnapps that Noah stole from his parent’s cabinet and swap old memories. Henry and Blue finally learn about the time Gansey had to rush Noah to the ER after he broke his arm sophomore year when Ronan drunkenly threw him out of the window. They talk about everything and anything until they can no longer keep their eyes open.

 

Noah wakes in the middle of the night to the soft wafting of music. In a tired haze,  Noah rises from bed and investigates.

 

In the middle of the living room, he discovers Adam and Ronan swaying together barefoot on the carpet, Ronan’s face buried in Adam’s hair and Adam’s cheek resting on Ronan’s shoulder. The sight captivates Noah, and he watches them waltz around the room from the top of the stairs before he realizes that he’s intruding on a private moment.

 

Noah silently retreats to the bed in Declan’s old room, laying next to Henry, who is drooling in his sleep. It’s kind of gross, but Noah smiles as he settles into Henry’s side.

 

“Mmmh,” Henry shifts and stretches next to him before opening his eyes and producing a sleepy smile. His normally styled hair is untidy. Noah enjoys seeing this rumpled, disheveled side of Henry. Noah wonders what the other sides of Henry look like. He wants to know them all.

 

“Stop staring at my hair. I know, it looks bad,” Henry grumbles, carding his fingers through dark strands of hair.

 

“I like it. You should leave it like this more often.”

 

Henry stares at him, unimpressed.

 

“Or maybe not…” Noah mumbles as he reaches up to thumb at the dry drool caked on Henry’s cheek. “You have a bit of drool there.”

 

Henry groans and rolls on top of Noah, hiding his face in the crook of his neck. “Please tell me more about how unattractive I am at this very moment.”  

 

“I don't know. I’m pretty turned on by this look.” Noah feels Henry’s breath on his neck and the imprint of his smile on his skin. It stirs a wonderful sensation inside Noah that makes his toes curl.

 

“Are you now?” Henry asks as his hand finds Noah’s in the darkness, their fingers lacing together.

 

“Mhm.”

 

A deep and comfortable silence settles over them, and Noah drifts in and out of a dream state until the call of his name brings him back to reality.

 

“Yeah?” He whispers, and Henry’s lips are on his. Everything about this kiss feels so easy, their lips moving slowly against each other, Noah’s fingers weaving in Henry’s hair, and Henry’s feet sliding against his ankle.

 

“I was thinking about earlier tonight...” Henry murmurs against his mouth.

 

“Henry, of all times!”

 

“Hear me out, I--” Henry pushes himself up on his elbows to get a better look at Noah’s face. “I think about that stuff too. Post-graduation. The future. Us. I think about it all the time.”

 

“You do?” Noah asks quietly, and Henry squeezes his hand tightly.

 

“Yeah, but I don’t like to think about whether we’re prepared for long distance, or if it’s going to work out. Or where we will end up in a year or two or ten. I prefer to think of you and me, right now. Just like this.“

 

Henry leans in, capturing Noah’s lips for his own and swallowing his soft, surprised gasp. His eyelids close shut as Henry’s hot mouth slowly unravels him. Noah, breathless, is filled with a deep and insatiable longing as Henry’s kisses burn into his skin, tracing invisible patterns into his hands and his shoulders and his neck.

 

“Henry,” Noah moans softly, his head tilting back in pleasure as Henry’s hips accidentally rock into his, and Noah feels the friction of Henry’s hard-on press into him.

 

_Oh._

 

_Oh God, yes._

 

Then everything stops.

 

Henry jumps back as if he has been burned. When Noah pushes himself up to his elbows to look at Henry, he sits at the foot of the bed, angled away from Noah.

 

“Um wow, I’m sorry.” Henry chuckles strangely, rubbing his forehead as his gaze flickers down to the mattress. “I didn’t uh...intend for that to happen. I can just take care of--” He stands.

 

“No.” Noah’s face grows horrifyingly flushed by how desperate he sounds. He crawls to the edge of the bed, kneeling in front of Henry. “That was--it was--amazing?” He wishes that the bed would swallow him whole or that Henry would kiss him again, preferably the latter.

 

Henry stares wide-eyed at Noah, who stares back at him, neither moving.  This is an unchartered territory and neither knows how to make the first move.

 

“So do we...do you want to...um, do like, stuff?” Henry fiddles with the edge of his t-shirt. Noah expects Henry to be a lot smoother at this, but he’s not, which is kind of both hilarious and reassuring.

 

“Yeah, I want to...um do like stuff with you.”

 

“Now you’re just being a little ass--” The warm press of Noah’s lips on his cuts Henry off. His hands instinctively find Noah’s hips, pulling him close.

 

“Do you remember what you said to me on Valentine’s day?”

 

“Noah,” Henry sighs against his lips. “I said a lot of things that day.”

 

“Before we tied the balloons to the roof of my car, you said: I hope to be many of your firsts. Well--” His heart thrums wildly in his chest as he forces himself to keep looking at Henry. “I want you to be many of firsts for me. It doesn’t have to be tonight, but when that time comes, I want it to be with you.” Even in the moonlight, Noah notices the crimson in Henry’s cheeks.

 

“When did you get so smooth?” Henry asks.

 

“I’ve learned from the best.” Noah pulls back to take in Henry’s disheveled form. “Plus, you’re not in top form tonight.”

 

Cupping Noah’s face in the palm of his hands, Henry brushes their lips together, and it sends shivers crawling all over Noah. “Well, being smooth is my thing. I can’t have you besting me, now can I?”

 

Noah’s laugh catches in Henry’s mouth as they fall back against the bed.

 

**May**

 

The morning of graduation rushes by in a crazy haze as relatives pass him around like an old ragdoll, vying for the opportunity to take the next photo with him. Noah finally crawls out of his family’s death grip and narrowly escapes. Gansey, Adam, and Henry are already there when Noah arrives. As he stands before his friends it’s hard to believe that they finally made it to graduation. Last August seems so far away, and Noah thinks he finally knows what people mean when they say that time flies.

 

Henry forces all of them to take an Instagram selfie before booting Gansey and Adam out to take a few with just Noah. Teachers quickly usher them into formation, and fortunately, Czerny comes directly after Cheng, meaning that Henry and Noah sit next to each other for the ceremony.

 

_Pomp and Circumstance_ kicks into swing and they march out. When the graduates parade in, the crowd explodes in cheers and applauds. Noah’s ears roar, and he hardly hears the music anymore.

 

As Adam gives the valedictorian speech on the podium Henry takes a hold of Noah’s hand, lacing their fingers together. Noah can’t fight the smile that breaks out on his lips. _How lucky he is to sit next to the boys of his dreams with the sun and the moon in his kisses._

 

Noah doesn’t know what the future holds in store for them, but he knows that he ready for it. For all of it, and that includes all the joy and heartbreak that’ll come from being with Henry Cheng.

 

Ronan and Blue find them after the ceremony, and Blue hugs them with all the force of the world.

 

“Sargent, are you crying?”

 

“Shut up, Ronan. I will fight you.”

 

“That’s my g--” Gansey pauses. “My significant other who is equal to me in each and every single way except anatomically.”

 

Noah’s family finds him and forces him to endure another round of photos, but this time with his friends. They bicker about who gets the next photo, and Noah doesn’t mind the fussing because it’s the happiest day of his life.

 

However, happiness, like all things good and beautiful, is fleeting. Blue, Gansey, and Henry have to leave for the airport in a few hours. As Henry kisses him goodbye after graduation, Noah clings to the front of his gown, pulling Henry back in for more whenever he tries to pull away because he can’t get enough. Noah doesn’t think that he can ever get enough.

 

“Okay, seriously, I have to go.” Henry laughs against his lips, and Noah presses another kiss there. “You’re making this incredibly hard.”

 

Noah plants one final bruising kiss to Henry’s mouth.

 

“Good. That’s kinda the point.”

 

“I’m so proud of you.”

 

“Me too.”

 

“Wait, proud of yourself or me?”

 

“Both, but mostly you.”

 

Henry tilts his head back and laughs before his mouth finds Noah’s once more.

 

When they finally untangle, Adam, Ronan, and he watch as Henry, Gansey, and Blue’s forms retreat into the distance until they can no longer see them.

 

Noah feels a deep longing in his core. Suddenly, it feels like a lifetime since he has last seen their faces and a lifetime until he’ll see them again.

 

“I already miss them.”

 

Adam nods in agreement as they all stare off into the horizon. “Me too.”

 

**As the Time Flies**

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank so much for reading! Please feel free to leave comments about any moments that struck you vividly, any strong opinions you may have, or any questions that may haunt you. I'm all ears. You can follow me on tumblr at [rarity-kasket](http://rarity-kasket.tumblr.com/). Come chat with me! Until then, xoxo, gossip girl!


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